Power or Protection
by Avyuir
Summary: A different ending to the anime. What happens when the one you love gives himself to power? Will he be able to protect you from himself? SoulxMaka one shot


This is just a little ficlet that popped into my head form a picture I saw. Feel free to read and review. If you want to flame me then go ahead because I'll just ignore you ;p

I don't thik I kept them in character all that well...but oh well :\

The _italics_ are in Soul's head when hes talking to the imp.

Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater or its related characters or the picture I used for this story's inspiration. Everything in between however is my own :D

* * *

The sky was ominous that day as Madness spread, turning the normally lustrous blue sky into an eerie ruby colour. This was because the first Kishin, Asura, had appeared and with Arachne and her organization, Arachnophobia, the Maness had spread farther and faster. It was on this day that she watched in horror as her partner nearly committed a heinous crime. Her name was Maka Albarn, a weapon meister at Shibusen and her partner was Soul 'Eater' Evans. He was her weapon, and it was because of him that her world nearly turned up-side-down.

Maka's head hit the ground as she was flung away from by the demon god Asura, a searing pain ripping through her body. A muffled groan escaped her lips and she could feel the heat and stickiness of her blood as it dripped from her wounds. She heard Soul yell something to her, though she could not make out exactly what he said. Maka felt her body being lifted from the ground and she gasped as she felt Asura wrap one of his tendrils around her neck.

"Maka! Pull yourself together and do something!"

Asura's tendril tightened further around her neck, squeezing shut her wind pipe. She could see darkness in the corner of her eyes as she struggled to maintain consciousness.

"Tell me little girl, are you afraid? Why not let the Madness consume you, embrace it, and become a Kishin like me with your black blood."

The demon god's words snapped something inside of her, and she glared straight at him with her blazing emerald eyes, "I…will never be like YOU!" Maka swung her scythe, slicing through Asura's stomach and the tendril clasped around her neck. She fell to the ground, resting on her hands and knees as she took in large gulps of the air she so desperately needed.

"Maka are you okay?"

"Yeah Soul, I'm okay…" She glanced up to the reddened sky. Asura had yet to even be fazed by their attacks. He wasn't dead, that much was for sure, even though she had thought she cleaved him in two. "That bastard just won't die."

Soul appeared at her side, his hand lightly resting on her back. The demon god was proving to be harder to kill than even the witch Medusa had been. Then again, he wouldn't have expected anything less from the original Kishin. "We have to keep trying Maka." He saw her nod, and he quickly returned back to his scythe form.

'_You cannot win you know.'_

_Soul glared at the little red imp that was gleefully grinning at him. 'Maka will win.'_

'_The girl is weak. She will die. But there is way to save her, oh yes there is he he he. Let the Madness take over Soul. Let me take control.'_

_Soul growled under his breath, how he despised the stupid little imp with a passion. 'She will win.'_

Maka's eyes darted around as she scanned the battlefield for Asura. The demon god was hiding and within his barrier, her sixth sense was greatly diminished. She could not feel the presence of his soul, which under normal circumstances would not have been so troubling. However this was the demon god, and she needed whatever advantage she could get to be able to defeat him. "Soul?"

"Oi, Maka?"

"When he reappears, get ready."

"Right."

The demon god chose right at that moment to materialize right in front of her before sending her crashing into a wall near the collapsed Black Star and Death the Kidd. She coughed up some blood, wearily cracking an eye open to see the demon god advancing on her.

'_Oohohohoho, this is it Soul. Will you let your meister die in front of your very own eyes or will you save her? You know what you must do he he he.'_

_Soul grit his sharp, shark-like teeth together. 'I will protect Maka with my life if I have to.'_

'_Then you are a fool! Why kill yourself for the sake of that pathetic girl when you can become stronger and save both her and yourself hmm?'_

_Soul watched the demon god get ever closer to Maka. She was in trouble and he knew it yet there was little he could actually do by himself. If he gave himself up to the madness, there would be a high chance he could turn into a Kishin like Asura in the future._

'_Time's running out Soul. What will you do I wonder?'_

Maka felt Soul's scythe form pulse in her grasp. Something was changing within him and she could feel it, though she could not explain it. Her mind however was taen away from Soul's sudden change when she felt Asura's tendrils wrap themselves around her neck and chest, squeezing the life from her. A scream erupted from her lips and she could feel her bones beginning to crack. Her vision darkened again however, only for a moment. Somehow, she could breathe again. A high pitched cry rang in her ears and she was released from the demon gods grasp. Another cry echoed in her ears but it was not hers, nor Soul's. She wearily opened her eyes, trying to figure out where it was coming from, "Soul?"

What Maka saw should have pleased her, but instead it scared her even more. This was not Soul, not the boy to whom she had loved for years as her faithful partner. The demon god's screams continued to ring in the air until finally everything went silent except for the faint sound of flesh being sliced. Something was wrong with Soul, Maka could feel it. Something was very, very wrong.

"Maka, what's wrong with Soul?"

She turned to head to see that Kidd was slowly crawling over to her. "I…I don't…don't know."

The demon god's barrier was beginning to lift; she could tell this because her sixth sense was beginning to grow stronger again. She could see into Soul's soul now but she could not understand what she was seeing. To her, it looked like two souls were manifested in his body, and both her fighting for control. She watched as Soul stood up and turned to face her, an evil grin plastered to his face.

The demon god's body convulsed one more time, freeing all the pure souls he had capture in his wake. Maka watched Soul snatch one harshly out of the air, the look on his face was one she had seen many times, over 99 to be exact.

"Soul, no!" Some how she managed to find the strength to get to her feet and run over to him. She grabbed his wrist, preventing him from moving the hand that held the pure soul and looked him straight in the eye, "Don't do this Soul, it's not worth it."

His feral grin faltered as Maka was keeping him from his prize. "Don't think you of all people can stop me Maka. You are weaker than you think, and I am doing this for you. It is so I can protect you."

She shook her head, pleading with him to not do this. "This is wrong Soul! You say that this is to protect me but how long before it spins out of control! Can you protect me from yourself?"

Soul growled and pushed her away harshly, "Do not interfere again Maka." He brought the pure soul to his lips, licking it slightly.

"No!" She pushed the soul out of his hands before grabbing him into a tight hug. "Please Soul, don't do it…" She was crying softly into his shirt as she held onto him. She wasn't strong and she knew it, but so help her she would hold on to him until her last breath to prevent him from doing such a thing.

"…Maka…"

"Yes?"

"I told you not to interefere!"

Maka gasped as she felt an excruciating pain rip through the core of her body. She looked down, her body getting weaker with every movement, to see her crimson blood coating the one thing she had used to defeat so many Kishin eggs; Soul's scythe arm. She looked back up and into his eyes, holding on to whatever strength she had left to keep herself conscious and alive. But her strength was fading fast and she could feel numbness etching itself into the tips of her fingers and toes.

"Soul…I have been…meaning to say this for a long time…but now…it seems too late…" She paused trying so hard to stay awake, to stay alive. "But…I love…you." She slumped onto his shoulder causing the tip of his scythe to protrude farther out her backside.

"Maka…"

Her last few words brought Soul to his senses, allowing his true being to regain control from the imp. His eyes went wide with the realization of what he…no, of what that imp had done and that this was no horrific nightmare but harsh reality. He pulled his scythe from her body and lay her gently on the ground. "Maka, please no! Don't leave…Maka wake up!" His arm was coated heavily in her blood, a grim symbol of just how careless he had been. It sickened him, he was no better than the Demon God. His wanting for power had proven too much for him to handle and he lost himself to it. His own weakness was responsible for why now his meister was laying on the ground, cold and unconscious and bleeding to death.

Maka had been right. He had succumbed to the power in hopes to protect her. But in the end, she had been right all along, he could not protect her from himself. He had still been the loser in this battle and now he was paying the ultimate price.

"Oi Maka…what have I done?"

* * *

A/N: This is a one shot for the moment. Who knows, I might end up extending it into a full length story.

To the faithful readers of **Of Princes and Pointe Shoes** I am working on it trust me...I just have major writer's block for that story :(


End file.
